A driver’s license is a symbol of independence and responsibility for a developing adult, so why should parents have to do all the work for the student to become independent? St. Paul Academy and Summit School does not offer driver’s ed. It should be offered to reinforce high school students’ growing independence and maturity by decreasing the reliance on and hassle for their parents.

Right now students have to figure out where and when to take driver’s ed on their own. Their parents have to drive them, which makes driver’s ed not only a hassle for the student but also for their parents. If driver’s ed was offered right after school at SPA, then students wouldn’t have to take driver’s ed at an  inconvenient time, in an unfamiliar location.

Of course, it wouldn’t be required that students take driver’s ed at SPA, since it would conflict with sports for many students. But for students with parents who work, students that don’t participate in an after school activity and for students that play a club sport at night, offering driver’s ed at SPA would be incredibly convenient and would make it a lot easier for many students to get their permits and licenses, ultimately helping them transition into more independent and responsible adulthood.

“It’s really time consuming. The hours were weird, I took it from 6-9 and that’s late at night so if you didn’t have a friends it got kind of weird being there alone,” freshman Sammy Ries said. Ries started driver’s ed over the summer, but has not yet finished driver’s ed because she can’t find time to take her final two classes.

Many students believe that it makes no sense that a student that wants to be responsible and independent needs so much help from their parents to get their permit.

“It was a long drive that my parents absolutely hated, so I think that if driver’s ed was offered at SPA it would 1) get it done easier and 2) get it done faster because their parents wouldn’t be involved in getting them there,” sophomore Stephanie Frisch said.

This isn’t only a problem that affects freshman, though. There are countless students that could get their licenses sooner if drivers’ ed was offered after school. It would also help students getting their Behind-the-Wheel lessons done because students could be picked up right from school by an instructor and dropped back off at school, where their parents could easily pick them up.

SPA should offer driver’s ed after school, it would be very convenient for parents and students alike and with it would put students on the path to independence by helping them not rely on their parents for everything.